Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: distressed
  • Music: The Barr Brothers, "Beggar in the Morning."

There are lines. Please stop crossing them.

When I posted about depression, I said that I was giving myself comment amnesty; I said that I might not (probably would not) read the comments.

Since then, people have contacted me via email (when they had it), via my old email (which I rarely check), via my contact form, via Facebook, and via my Tumblr, to give me their phone numbers, to tell me not to hurt myself (which I did not threaten to do), to provide crisis hotlines, to make suggestions about medication (which I did not solicit), and in one case, to threaten to report me to the police as a suicide risk if I did not update my blog immediately to show that I was still alive.

Please. Stop. "Comment amnesty" did not mean "work harder to make sure that your words, your well wishes, your specific need to engage with my depression will be heard." I try to keep open dialogs on this blog, and I usually appreciate communication, but right now, this contact is intrusive, and upsetting, and seems to prioritize the needs of the contacting person above mine. Please. Stop.

This is why I do not talk when I am sad.
Tags: depression, shameless plea
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  • 222 comments
...go 2 levels up... Expand

apocalypticbob

January 12 2014, 21:42:30 UTC 3 years ago

I have, in the past, expressed a desire to self harm on my LJ, and I had friends that called my local police and had them do a wellness check, even knowing it might risk the friendship. They are still my friends, because I was ACTIVELY in crisis and their actions and timing were appropriate to what I was saying. What you experienced was not appropriate, and definitely more harmful than helpful.

naamah_darling

January 13 2014, 01:31:14 UTC 3 years ago

Thank you for being understanding about that. I had never gotten alarm bells from you before, and I WOULDN'T have gotten them if I wasn't afflicted with pretty severe depression myself, and recognized the feelings. I've never been happier to be wrong. *hugs*